A shooting at an apartment complex in southwest Little Rock left one man dead and another wounded early Wednesday, police said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Little Rock police had logged five homicides this month -- after a lull the city saw from mid-August to mid-October. Although no arrest has been made in the Wednesday morning killing, authorities on Tuesday made arrests in two other October homicides.
In the most recent Little Rock homicide, officers were dispatched at 1:06 a.m. Wednesday to the Spanish Johns apartments, 5001 W. 65th St., for a report of an "unknown trouble," according to a statement from the Police Department.
Police arrived and found 35-year-old Larry Bearfield, who had been shot, lying in the doorway of his apartment, the department said. Authorities found a second victim, identified as Cero Wilson, 35, of Little Rock inside the apartment, according to the statement.
[HOMICIDE MAP: Interactive map of Little Rock’s 2017 killings]
Bearfield was pronounced dead at the scene. Emergency medical personnel took Wilson, who had a gunshot wound in his head, to a Little Rock hospital, according to a report. The report said Wilson was "in serious but stable condition."
"At this time there is no suspect information or any information regarding the motive behind this incident," the department's statement said.
The fall-off in homicides coincided with extra police patrols implemented through mandatory overtime.
In September, Police Chief Kenton Buckner has said that while the extra patrols are having an impact, it's unclear if the lull is solely because of them.
"Is it true that our visibility and increased officer presence is a contributing factor? Yes. Is it the contributing factor? I don't think that anyone can say that," Buckner said in a September interview. "Because if [violent crime] were to go up tomorrow, I wouldn't be able to tell you why."
The respite also coincided with further efforts by the Arkansas State Police, which began additional patrols along state highways in the city. Little Rock police had requested the help, officials said.
In a separate October killing, police have arrested Tiffany McGhee, 38, in the fatal shooting of her neighbor, 24-year-old Loren Poole, the department said.
Officers were called about 1:48 a.m. Tuesday to a residence in the 1600 block of South Woodrow Street for a report of a disturbance involving a weapon, according to a report released Wednesday.
Police found Poole with a gunshot wound in the chest, and emergency personnel took him to UAMS Medical Center, where he died, according to the report.
During the incident, the department's SWAT team responded to the scene and surrounded the residence at 1622 S. Woodrow St., said Lt. Michael Ford, a Police Department spokesman.
Around 3 a.m., two people in the house, Sherri McGhee and Shawndre McGhee, stepped out and were taken to the police station, according to the report.
Shawndre McGhee identified her mother, Tiffany McGhee, as the person who shot Poole during an argument, the report said.
"She stated that Mr. Poole had come to their residence and had threatened to kill them and refused to leave," according to the report.
Authorities also spoke with Rebekah Rahn, 39, who identified Poole as her boyfriend and said they had gotten into a "physical altercation," the report said.
Rahn told police she went to 1622 S. Woodrow St. for help, but Poole followed her. According to the report, Rahn said she was at the residence when she heard several gunshots.
She told police she did not see who fired the gunshots, but there were "several" people at the porch during the incident.
A report shows that Poole and Rahn had the same address: 1609 S. Woodrow St., across the street from 1622 S. Woodrow St.
Tiffany McGhee surrendered to police Tuesday afternoon and was taken into custody on one count of first-degree murder.
She was listed on the Pulaski County jail's inmate roster Wednesday afternoon.
16-YEAR-OLD ARRESTED
A 16-year-old boy has been arrested in the killing of Kordell Johnson, 19, who was fatally shot Oct. 18 at the Big Country Chateau, 6200 Colonel Glenn Road.
Latoris Edward Henry of Little Rock was arrested Tuesday and faces one count of first-degree murder.
In that killing, officers were dispatched to the apartment complex and found Johnson, who had numerous gunshot wounds, lying inside the apartment, according to an affidavit.
The court documents said police found Johnson with a revolver in his jacket pocket.
The victim said a person by the name of "TJ" shot him, and he asked officers if he was going to die, the documents said. Police said Johnson died the next day.
According to the affidavit, one witness told police that in the lead-up to the fatal shooting, he was visiting Johnson and left the apartment when he met two people "he recognizes from John Barrow and school at Hall High approaching the apartment."
The affidavit said the witness went back to the apartment then left shortly afterward.
Later on, the witness identified Henry as "TJ" and also as the person "who was in the apartment on the night of the incident," according to the affidavit.
Another witness told police she was in the apartment with Johnson before the fatal shooting.
In an interview last weekend, she told investigators that the two people went to the apartment complex to sell marijuana to Johnson.
She went outside the apartment with Johnson, "TJ" and the other person, but Johnson sent her inside the apartment after one of the people tried talking to her, according to the court documents.
The affidavit said Johnson went in a "short time later" and closed the apartment door.
"There was a knock on the door and when Mr. Johnson opened the door there was nobody there and before the door could be closed all the way TJ pushed his way in. TJ began shooting Mr. Johnson," according to the affidavit.
The witness hid behind a couch but saw the fire spurt from the gun, according to the documents.
The witness identified Henry as the person who shot Johnson at the apartment complex. She also identified Henry as the person known as "TJ," according to the court documents.
According to an arrest report, police arrested Henry about 11:45 p.m. Tuesday.
He faces one count of first-degree murder and was listed on the Pulaski County jail's inmate roster Wednesday afternoon.
Metro on 10/26/2017